


Who Controls Destiny? (Certainly Not I)

by MercurialComet



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Apprentice Week, Character Study, I rework a lot of my ideas, In which I talk about my apprentice and how he was made and reworked
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-04-23 14:19:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14334312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercurialComet/pseuds/MercurialComet
Summary: In which I'll post all my stuff for Apprentice Week here.Also in which I ramble about my apprentice for 6 days and give you guys a story on the seventh.





	1. Etymology (Prompt: Name)

Okay, I'll let you know one thing before we begin: Etymology is defined as the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.

With that said, let's break down Mihail. He's a 6'1'' dark skinned male who is from Karnassos, running a successful tailor shop with his winged satchel familiar, Cibor, until he was kidnapped by Lucio when he was in town and forced to be the royal tailor.

This is ironic for multiple reasons, all of which I love and will keep:

1\. Mihail is based off of Michael, which means "Who is God."

Now, that doesn't sound ironic now, but another translation of Michael is also said to mean, "Who controls fate/destiny." which makes his circumstances ironic for all the wrong reasons. Lucio kidnapping him is only the tip of the iceberg to be honest.  ~~I do explore this later on this week, so his name isn't the exact opposite of him.~~

2\. Mihail is a tailor.

This was a conscious decision, as I wanted a "seamster to the threads of fate" type character. As I kept on fleshing him out however, this didn't really work out, but the name kept symbolic meaning, and so the name stayed.

(Besides the three days it was Mihailo- the actual Serbian translation of Michael)

3\. Mihail is the  **royal** tailor.

This was based more around flipping the "Seer to the King" trope, in which the person who can look into the future does so for the royal family, and still keeping all the ties to fate and divination. This also tied in pretty well with why Mihail was in Vesuvia, why he would be at the Masquerade, and why he would have a motive to kill Lucio (if he did). 

Bonus points to me for somehow creating a character that has so many ties to fate, destiny, and looking into the future, it would've been a crime for Asra not to teach him tarot.

4\. Mihail really isn't in control of his destiny, not directly at least.

This isn't his fault, it's mine. He's a character I made up, and so he really doesn't have that many choices, that's fair. But man, his lot in life is rough and that's something that really makes me wonder if I'm being too heavy handed, especially with his name meaning, "Who controls fate."

However, I was thinking, and I realized that he does have a semblance of control over his fate indirectly, through what he does and how he acts.  ~~Again, I explore this later on, please wait.~~

And that's basically it, that's why Mihail is Mihail.

And before you ask, yes, I forgot why I named his familiar Cibor. If I do find out, I'll drop it in the notes.

 


	2. So Enchanting (Prompt: Magic)

Mihail is a tailor, a magician, and a scientist, all of which are used to great effects in his works.

Most of his spells aren't cast from him, but from different clothes and fabric he wears and carries. He is mostly an enchanter, but if I was forced to say what specialty his magic was, I would have a hard time giving you an answer.

From a standpoint of weaving magic into fabrics and items, I would first say his magic is closer to Dungeons and Dragon's transmutation school of magic, changing energy to threads sewn into clothes sounds cool as fuck. However, he casts all sorts of spells, so I would say that transmutation is his primary magic when it comes to casting, but he is equally good at all kinds.

Following on what magic he uses, it's more defensive and attacking spells, so following DND again those are abjuration and evocation. Although he has had to charm a few people, but that's another story.

Also, fire magic for a tailor is pretty ironic, but he does use it to great effect when he needs to. 


	3. Love (Only if you believe in Love!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know I'm very late. But with e being late makes this easier, especially with all of the new canon interactions.
> 
> I'm gonna finish the q and a tonight and the story is nearly done, I swear.

Okay, romantic  ~~and sexual~~ love.

 

I see Mihail as falling in love with Asra, and maybe Muriel if the cards line up correctly. 

 

With Asra, he's falling in love over time, and he knows it. It starts out on a minor crush in game, but it grows to being an actual relationship whenever the devs will let me love him.

With Muriel, it sneaks up on him. Especially after the Coliseum fight. The moment the three meet up, Mihail is immediately trying to console/heal them both, and is practically begging for a way to remember Muriel because if Asra can remember, he should too because he cares.

 

Julian is a one-day crush that's basically about how well he fits his gladiator clothes.

 

Nadia has practically been on his shitlist from day one from that comment about his clothes being rags. He tolerates her though.

 

He can't help but feels he knows Portia really well, he has no idea why though.

 

Lucio is gone from his memory,  ~~but between you and me they have hate-fucked multiple times.~~

 

Nothing else bye!


	4. Welcome to the Jungle!

Um, animals?

Okay, honestly I like the idea of a spider because "seamster" and "thread" and "weaving" and etc. And I wrote in an rp that he was curiously comfortable around spiders/felt oddly attracted/related to spiders.

And that would be a great familiar, but he already has Cibor so...

 

...maybe a reoccuring friend. I haven't fully decided.


	5. Family (I have no reference in regards to family)

Okay, the Braithwaite's

Mihail's dad is a politician figure, only because I want to major in poli sci. He's not the best dad, but he's there?

Mihail's mom is a seamstress, and that's where he picked up his talent for tailoring from.

The aunt mentioned in Asra's route is more of an aunt figure, and I have decided it is Mazelinka for reasons of continuity

 

He does have a friend named Orpheus, another Arcana oc of mine I sometimes rp, and Mihail is practically the reason Orpheus finds himself in Vesuvia, as he's trying to find his tailor friend.

 

The true gag is after he loses his memory, Mihail actually thinks that his last name is Vesuvias, and honestly? Orpheus lets him think that.

 

I'm not sure how seeing his parents would have him react though.


End file.
